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The Big Story: Mobocracy

This is a picture that will haunt India for years to come. A man is on his knees, his body bloodied, begging for forgiveness from a mob. The mob does not relent, beating him and three of his co-workers to death.

Why was the mob beating them? Here things get even odder. For a month now, rumours had been circulating in the many adivasi communities of Jharkhand that child snatchers were on the prowl. Sordid photos of dead children did the rounds on WhatsApp giving rise to a hysteria that culminated in this burst of violence. Two people were lynched on May 12 and seven on May 18. Notably, no actual kidnappings seem to have taken place.

Meanwhile, in Jamshedpur, the lynching on Thursday led to communal tensions in the city – four of the victims happened to be Muslim.

The sordid incident is a snapshot of India today. The social media rumours represent a complete failure of the state. For decades now, adivasi communities in Jharkhand have been subject to the worst forms of exploitation. While the current round of rumours remain to be verified, the state does have a horrific child trafficking problem. In particular young girls are kidnapped and sold outside the state, often into sexual slavery. For decades, the administration did nothing to solve this issue.

When WhatsApp rumours of child-snatching started to circulate, the state government again did nothing. The Indian Expressreports that when two people were lynched on May 12, the state administration did not do anything to puncture the hysteria, leading eventually to the lynching of seven men on Thursday. Videos of the lynchings show policemen was present at the spot but did not step in. The failure of the state in, first, preventing violence against the adivasi and then even ignoring loud warning signs, like this hysterical rumour, led to the situation exploding into mob fury.

This isn’t a one-off incident. This typifies India today. The lack of capacity of the state to ensure law and order has resulted in rising number of cases of mob violence, as most commonly seen in the many lynching in the name of the cow across India. In many cases, the administration is either unwilling or unable to stop vigilante violence. This is a dangerous situation. The entire concept of governance and rule of law rests on the state having exclusive rights to violence. What happens when non-state actors appropriate the right to do violence can be seen across India’s western border in Pakistan, where the government has lost its writ to a number of Islamist militant groups. India needs to pull back from the precipice and make sure mobs are not allowed to define the nature of the justice in the country.

The Big Scroll

“These people do not know hunger”: author Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar struggles to make sense of the Jharkhand lynchings.

Terrorism in the name of the cow: Samar Harlarnkar writes about India’s flirtation with anarchy.

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Punditry

One Belt, One Road: India needs an alternative narrative that contests the inevitability of Chinese hegemony, says Shyam Saran in the Indian Express.

This is the right time to privatise Air India, argues Sanjay Baru in the Economic Times.

Giggle

Don’t Miss

The future of India’s coast depends on a line that the government is treating as a commercial secret, reports Vinita Govindarajan.

The Centre’s refusal to share data has triggered anxiety among Tamil Nadu’s coastal communities, who fear they may be locked out of the process of finalising new Coastal Zone Management Plans. Bhalla said that it is necessary to involve coastal communities in the process, particularly those whose livelihoods are based on the functioning of coastal ecosystems. “Can a democratic country afford to bypass the primary stakeholder in such an exercise?” he asked.

With the distinctive placement of the rear cameras, this phone makes a great subject for a photographic series.

Gaurav Sawn Photography

The light reveals the fluidity of its body; curves that fit perfectly in the contours of a palm.

Gaurav Sawn Photography

Reclining on a bed of satin, the glass-encased phone blends into the folds of the luxurious fabric.

The slimness, seamlessness and solidity of the phone make for a great profile shot.

A stunning design which is IP68 rated water-resistant too, it is as beautiful as it is strong.

We partnered with photographer Gaurav Sawn to create this series. Says Gaurav, “The glass sandwich design looks extremely good and the reflections on the back panel make the phone stand out. This is a phone that is best used without a case. The curved corners were also very comfortable to hold. All in all, really enjoyed shooting this phone!”

While this phone is elegant and crafted to perfection, it is also extremely tough, being protected from scratches with Corning® Gorilla® Glass that stretches all the way around.

You don’t need to sacrifice of performance either. It’s packed with a 2.2 GHz octa-core Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 630 processor and comes with a TurboPower™ Charger which means hours of power in minutes!

For the music lover, this phone is a boon. With simultaneous connectivity of up to four Bluetooth® audio devices at the same time, you can build your own stereo system without worrying about cables.

The dual rear cameras – a 12MP that lets you focus faster and get great results even on dark, cloudy days, and an 8 MP camera, with wide angle lens makes your most ambitious photos look all the more impressive.

To get your hands on the Moto X4, and experience perfection, click here.

This article was produced by the Scroll marketing team on behalf of Motorola and not by the Scroll editorial team.